NFL preseason

The National Football League preseason is a special time each year when NFL teams play a few friendly exhibition games before the real games, called the regular season, begin. It all starts with an exciting game called the Pro Football Hall of Fame game in early August. After that, there are three weekends full of exhibition games. This time is very important because it starts right after the last week of training camp, when players practice hard to get ready for the season. During the preseason, teams test new strategies and give players a chance to show what they can do before the real competition begins.

History

Exhibition games have been part of professional football since the start. Before the NFL began in 1920, teams played friendly matches against other teams. These games were like test matches to see how well teams could play.

When the NFL started in 1920, every game counted toward the league champion. But in 1921, the rules changed so only games between two NFL teams counted. This let teams play exhibition games against teams outside the NFL. Over the years, the number of preseason games changed many times. By the 1960s, teams played fewer preseason games as the regular season grew longer. Today, most NFL teams play three preseason games before the regular season starts, except for the team that plays in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, which plays four. In 2020, the preseason was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scheduling

The NFL preseason is when teams play friendly games before the regular season starts. These games are not based on a set plan. The NFL makes the schedule. Since 2002, teams can talk about who they want to play, but the league decides the final games and times.

The preseason usually starts the first weekend of August with the Hall of Fame Game. After that, there are three weekends of games. Most games are played on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday nights, and some are shown on TV. The preseason schedule is released in the spring, before the regular season schedule.

International and neutral-site games

Before the NFL International Series began, the NFL had a special game called the American Bowl. This was an extra preseason game played outside the United States, usually in Mexico or Japan. It ran from 1986 to 2005.

Teams also sometimes played in stadiums near their cities or in places without NFL teams. For example, the Alamodome in San Antonio hosted games, as did the Rogers Centre in Toronto. In the late 1990s, Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin hosted a preseason game for the Green Bay Packers each year.

In 2019, the Green Bay Packers and Oakland Raiders planned to play a preseason game in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They had to change the field size because of the different rules for Canadian football.

That same year, the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams announced a preseason game in Hawaii at Aloha Stadium. This would have been the last NFL game there before the stadium was closed down in 2020.

Television and radio

Some preseason games are shown on big TV networks. The Hall of Fame Game usually airs on NBC but might be on other channels during Summer Olympics years. Most preseason games are made by the teams themselves and shown on local TV stations or sports networks.

These games are usually played in the evening because it’s hot in the summer. If a game doesn’t sell enough tickets, it can still be shown later on TV. Since 2015, rules about not showing games on TV if they don’t sell out have been removed. Some games with popular teams like the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys are shown nationwide by Compass Media Networks.

Criticism

Each NFL team asks fans to buy tickets for two exhibition games before they can buy regular-season tickets. Some people have complained about this, even going to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the rule has not changed. In 1974, a decision said that many teams were breaking the Sherman Act by making fans buy exhibition tickets.

Some players, coaches, and fans do not like the four-week exhibition schedule. Players do not get paid extra for these games. Coaches often save their best players for regular-season games. These games help teams decide who will stay on the team.

The games help teams make money, so they are likely to continue for now.

Proposed reductions and 2021 changes

In 2008, the NFL thought about making the exhibition season shorter. By 2012, there was a plan to have two exhibition games and 18 regular-season games, but this did not happen because players were worried about getting tired and injured.

In 2021, the NFL decided to make the regular season 17 games and reduce the exhibition season to three games for most teams.

2020 elimination

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL talked about canceling the exhibition season. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game and its induction ceremony were canceled. Finally, the NFL decided to cancel all exhibition games for 2020.